The History Corner
by David Mostardi, Club Historian
Once Upon A Hillside: 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago
November 1920
Social Evening: Illustrated lecture on “The Indian as an Artist,” by Dr. T. T. Waterman, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California. [In 1911, Thomas Talbot Waterman (1885-1936) was asked to interview a weak, starving Native American man who had emerged from the rugged land around Oroville. Waterman and colleague Alfred Kroeber identified him as a member of the Yahi tribe. The Yahi keep their names secret, so he was called Ishi, meaning “man.” Ishi lived at UC San Francisco until his death in 1916. Waterman made over 150 wax cylinder recordings of Ishi singing and telling stories in his native language, much of which is still untranslated.]
November 1945
International Relations Section: We have been fortunate in securing for the program Prof. E. D. Dickinson, Dean of the College of Law, University of California. His subject will be “International Law Today.” Club members will enjoy this discussion and its relation to the foreign policy of each member of the United Nations Council. [Edwin DeWitt Dickinson (1887-1961) earned his Ph.D. from Harvard and his J.D. from the University of Michigan. He came to the University of California School of Law in 1933 to concentrate on international law, and was Dean of the College for twelve years (1936-48). From 1941-43 he was also the special assistant to the United States Attorney General in Washington DC.]
Evening of Drama: Three one-act comedies, written by Mr. Louis Piccirillo will be given: 1: “Friend at Court.” This play won first prize in the 1938 Berkeley Recreation Playwriting Contest. It is a sophisticated comedy. 2: “G. I. Giuseppe,” written especially for this Drama Evening. It depicts an episode of the American invasion of Sicily in July, 1943. 3: “Jumping Bean.” A rollicking farce.
News of our members in the Armed Forces: Major Wallen Maybeck is officer in the headquarters of the Signal Communications Service, Wiesbaden, Germany. Lt. Commander Will C. Mathews has not yet been released from his important assignment as Civil Readjustment Officer of the 11th Naval District, San Diego.
November 1970
Fireside Meeting: The International Affairs Committee have secured Mr. John Thune, Executive of the YMCA of Alameda County, as guest speaker. Mr. Thune and his wife have conducted groups of young people of “Goodwill Tours” for the last eleven years. They have visited over seventy-five countries around the world. This last summer, while on such a trip, he and his wife were taken into custody by the Soviet Secret Police. Don’t miss this first-hand account of exciting adventures! [John B. Thune (1917-2007) was a native of Chicago, and earned a degree in Education with honors from the University of Illinois. John traveled west to begin a lifetime of outdoor adventure, world travel, and a commitment to youth and service. He spent three years (1936-39) as a Yellowstone National Park Ranger, where he was roommate to the future US President Gerald R. Ford, and served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy. Later he earned his M.A. degree from UC Berkeley. He joined the staff of the Alameda County YMCA in 1942 as a program director and retired in 1979 in the top position of YMCA General Secretary. He led YMCA International tours with youth from Oakland, visiting over 100 countries and all seven continents. He was a mountain climber, cross country skier, cyclist and outdoorsman and became a trip leader for over forty expeditions to China, Nepal, India, South America, the Arctic and the Antarctic with Mountain Travel Sobek. In 1988 the YMCA recognized him by establishing the John B. Thune Medallion of Dedicated Service, its highest distinction award for volunteer service.]
Photographic Arts Section: Hillsiders will have an opportunity to learn of the life of the Navajo Indians when Donald and Shirley Strong, from the California State College at Hayward, present in pictures and descriptions their impressions of their recent sabbatical to Ganado Mission in Eastern Arizona where they lived among the large numbers of Navajos who reside in this Reservation town. The Strongs, both of whom speak Navajo, will have many examples of modern and ancient Navajo art they have collected in their four Arizona trips.
November 1995
The Club’s archive of printed monthly newsletters ended with the May 1994 issue. If you know of a source for any newsletters between 1994 and the Club’s renaissance in the early 2000s, your historian would love to hear about it!
Comments